Forge: Simply Magic

So, I play Magic: The Gathering when I can find someone to play with, and when I can find the spare time. I have had only one of those things lately and no deck so I decided to look into a game that I used to play, Forge. It's a fully functional Magic deck tester, or that's what I use it for. You can build a deck out of any of the cards that they have installed which at the moment comes to about 9,536 cards in total, possibly more if there has been an update since I last checked. I assume this project has taken a lot of the designers time, and with it not being made by a company, even more of that individuals time. The creator originally made it just for fun and to see if he could, I coded a little and seeing if you could is a great way to pass time while programming.

The AI works well, the card graphics are the real life card pictures, and the deck builder is fantastic if you know the rules of deck building. Theirs even a working quest mode, that I sadly have to say I have not given a try yet. If the rest of this program says anything about what the quest mode will be like though, I should give it a try as soon as I can.

Over all this game is decent and has support for Mac and PC users. The user interface is simpler than it used to be and is easy on the eyes. If I was Wizards of the Coast, I would allow this game to be produced as a cheap deck tester, even maybe calling it Deck Forge or something. Eh, pipe dreams, but anyway if you are into trading card games and cant figure out magic, give this a try. Hell if you do know how to play magic use it as a deck tester and something to help you find better combinations.

If you'd like to check it out look at their blogger:  http://mtgrares.blogspot.com/
                                                       or their site:  http://www.slightlymagic.net/wiki/Forge

Sometimes the download links go down but its not his fault, just the site he hosts on going down. He always re-posts the content elsewhere though, so if you get into it no worries.


I rate this program 4 out of 5 for ease of use, being one of the few brave enough to keep pushing forward, and for just being a great game overall.